The Wish of the Dragon

Chapter 117:

Not long before Issei leaves the valley, Xue'er received a voice transmission from her father saying that it's almost time for the tournament to begin.

So Xue'er excuses herself from Xiaotao since she needed to attend the tournament as an observer to show some respect to the participants. But it's mostly because there's someone from the sacred grounds will be coming as a guest...

At least that's what her royal father said. Personally, Xue'er doesn't really mind coming to the tournament even if the sacred grounds are not visiting as a guest.

After Xue'er left the valley, Xiaotao decided to wait for her Master's return along with Zin. They know that he must've headed towards the Primordial Profound Ark.

He's been investigating the Ark for the past week after all.

No one will be able to detect their presence inside the valley and since the only who allowed entering here is only Xue'er and her father, it will be even more unlikely for them to be discovered.

Even if they do get discovered later, there's nothing the Divine Phoenix Empire could do to them anyway. First, Xiaotao herself is the Phoenix they ought to worship and secondly, both Zin and Xiaotao are at the peak of the Sovereign realm.

Both of them together is more than enough to destroy the whole Divine Phoenix Empire.

...

-At the tournament location-

When the sect members of the Divine Phoenix Empire is checking the participants, they heard a loud clattering sound coming from the main seat position.

Their complexion flickered, and their gaze turned towards the center of the main seats. Their voice stirred excitedly: "Sect Master, Young Sect Master, and the Great Elders have arrived Ah"

Their breathing suddenly became hurried and brief. His eyes stared forward rigidly, and his voice began trembling: "Ah ah-ah-ah-ah that's could it be Princess Snow!?"

The incomparably enormous arena was capable of holding almost three million people.

Just the sound of everyone's breathing amounted to rumbling thunder. But at this moment, the enormous arena instantly became incomparably silent, such that even a pin drop could have been heard, and it seemed like everything had frozen in motion. Everyone's gazes were directed upward, attentively watching the phoenix flame that had been lit in the sky.

The flame in the air assumed the shape of a flying phoenix. Atop the phoenix flame, several silhouettes descended slowly. Among the Divine Phoenix Sect's seats, all of the participants from the Divine Phoenix Sect were already seated, even the princes, elders, hall masters, pavilion masters, and city masters were already there. But the foremost fifteen seats of the Divine Phoenix Clan were still vacant. And the position of these fifteen seats was evidently higher than that of princes and elders!

Today, the owners of these fifteen center seats finally arrived.

The silhouettes in the air slowly descended as they stepped on the Phoenix flame. Included among these people were the Divine Phoenix Sect's Feng Hengkong and Great Elder Feng Feiyan. Young Sect Master and Crown Prince, Feng Ximing, was also lined up grandly.

The other ten people were all elder and city master-level existences that were at the peak of strength and prestige in Divine Phoenix Sect. Without the least exaggeration, any individual among these people was a super existence capable of showing disdain in the Profound Sky.

They stood together, their enormous imposing manner enveloping the entire arena, making all three million people in the arena have a heavy suffocating feeling.

However, including the Divine Phoenix Sect Master Feng Hengkong, not one person became the focal point of everyone's gaze. Everyone's gazes, as if locked by some irresistible force, fell onto the delicate and tender figure of the young girl standing beside Feng Hengkong.

She was dressed in luxurious phoenix clothing and wore a Phoenix Jade Crown. The Phoenix Jade glass that hung down from her crown completely shrouded her visage, rendering one incapable of even getting the slightest glimpse of her skin and grace.

But when people looked at such a girl, whose complexion couldn't even be seen, their souls would still suddenly surge intensely. They were unable to describe such a feeling, as if they had fallen into an illusory dreamland all of a sudden, watching a girl that had walked out of a dream Although they couldn't see her face, every person's heart was filled with the incomparably firm belief that she must have the world's most perfect appearance, no less than that of a heavenly fairy.

This seemed like some kind of magic, and also seemed like a dreamy temperament that shouldn't belong to a young girl from the mortal world.

At this time, the Feng Hengkong and Feng Feiyan-level existences beside this young girl completely became decorative props, the many stars around the arched moon. In fact, while Feng Hengkong and the young girl stood in the middle, and the others stood evenly spread around them, the center of the region they encircled wasn't Feng Hengkong but that young girl.

"Princess Snow it's the fabled Princess Snow!" Within the arena, a man yelled with incomparable excitement.

"Besides Princess Snow, who can stand on equal footing with the Phoenix Sect Master Besides Princess Snow, who can possess such celestial character Heavens! I'm actually seeing the fabled Princess Snow"

"Having spent a tenth of the family property in order to get ahold of this entrance ticket, I felt a little conned originally But to be able to catch a glimpse of Princess Snow, even if I lost the entire family fortune, it would be completely worth it!"

"I couldn't be dreaming, right? Princess Snow only appeared that one time when she was thirteen Today, I'm actually witnessing her charm and grace with my own eyes"

"It's a pity, we can't see Princess Snow's face. The thirteen-year-old Princess Snow already possessed the beauty of a heavenly being, the sixteen-year-old Princess Snow right now who knows to what extent her beauty has developed."

"Know satisfaction already, you! Being able to witness Princess Snow's figure with your own eyes, is already a fortune gained by your former incarnation! How could Princess Snow's heavenly appearance be something that common folks like us are qualified to appreciate!"

The enormous arena once again became clamorous. The impassioned mood that had filled the entire arena, had all turned into the excitement and exclamation towards Princess Snow, making the people almost forget why they came here today. They felt that even if they were to leave the arena right now without being able to see the ranking tournament, being able to have a glance at Princess Snow's beauty was already more than tens of millions of times worth it.

In this entire world, to be able to instigate such a great shock with an entrance, moreover with covered features, Princess Snow would be the only one!

Feng Hengkong's gaze was tranquil yet dignified. His eyes swept through the entire audience and not even slightly surprised at this abrupt commotion. His gaze turned, and when it fell onto the Feng Xue'er beside him, the dignified gaze instantly became incomparably gentle, so gentle as though he was afraid his gaze would bring her harm.

This number one hegemon of the Profound Sky Seven Nations, a supreme being like the Emperor of Heaven's Palace, would also only reveal such an expression in his eyes when facing this sole daughter of his.

But when he saw her a while ago, Feng Hengkong felt something change about her. She becoming more beautiful is normal since she's still growing but there's something else that and he couldn't quite grasp just what it is...

Feng Hengkong then sit down on his seat, took a glance at the time, swept his gaze across the distinguished seats reserved for those from the <Four Great Sacred Grounds>, and said: "Have the honored guests from the Sacred Grounds arrived yet?

"They are always conceited with their status, and would never arrive until the last moment, there is no need for Sect Master to mind. Their intentions are set on the Primordial Profound Ark, they will certainly come." Feng Feiyan said expressionlessly. He was the directly related older brother of Feng Hengkong and was only seven years older than him, yet he looked to be twenty or thirty years older. With his cultivation, at two hundred years old, he could totally look no different than twenty or thirty, but it was very clear that he did not choose to deliberately control the characteristics of age with profound strength.

"Mn." Feng Hengkong slowly nodded: "Since they are honored guests, we'll wait for fifteen minutes longer."

"Hahahaha, no need for fifteen minutes. An honored invitation of the phoenix, how could I, this Ling, not come."

An ear-splitting hearty laugh sounded from above and instantly resounded through the entire arena as if a gale, jolting to the point of causing everyone's eardrums to severely quiver. Right after, the enormous pressure belonging to an Overlord enveloped down, as a green-colored figure quickly flashed through the air, then fell upon the <Mighty Heavenly Sword Region> seat like a ghost.

It is none other than Ling Kun who was the honored guest on the previous tournament at the heavenly sword villa.

Who would've thought the person representing the Mighty Heavenly Sword Region at this Seven Nation Ranking Tournament would also be him?

"Haha." Feng Hengkong stood up, and cupped his hands at Ling Kun: "Elder Ling, it has been twenty-five years. I trust you have been well."

Ling Kun also gave Feng Hengkong a wave: "I naturally have been well. Rather than that, Sect Master Feng's aura has become even thicker and more profound, this Ling is already far, far behind."

"Haha, Elder Ling is being modest." Feng Hengkong laughed faintly, then his tone changed: "Elder Ling, would the one who has arrived together with you, be Young Hall Master Ye?"

Once Feng Hengkong's question ended, the complexions of the Phoenix Elders behind immediately changed slightly as they raised their heads upwards in succession.

"Hahahaha!"

Another hearty laugh came from a distance overhead. This laughter was not as vast and powerful as Ling Kun's but it was willful and flamboyant, and there were only a few in the Profound Sky Continent who would dare to laugh this unrestrainedly in Divine Phoenix Sect's territory.

Amidst the wild laughter, an illustrious white radiance akin to the blazing sun suddenly projected in the sky above. On the other side, an equally dazzling floating crescent moon appeared as well. This sun and moon instantly snatched away all the brilliance in this space.

A young man slowly walked out from within the radiance of the circular sun and crescent moon. Dressed in white, his brows were as sharp as swords and his eyes glistened like stars. His face was like white jade, the slanted and slender brows penetrated deeply into his hairline, as an aloof yet nefarious smile hung on his face To be more precise, that was an obscene smile. While he himself didn't have any intention of hiding this "Obsceneness".

(AN: Here it is again, folks! The infamous "like white jade" line on a Chinese novel strikes yet again! And it won't be the last! Like a particular someone used to say... "I'll be back!").

He opened his arms, and at once, two women bewitching in every way walked out from the radiance, swinging their water snake-like waist, and threw themselves into his embrace from both sides.

The man burst into loud laughter, and under the light of the sun's and moon's brilliance, the sleeves of his robe fluttered as he slowly descended while holding two women. Moreover, he continuously moved his hands up and down on the two women's bodies, as if this were a place with no people. Under his caressing and stroking, the two bewitching women moaned again and again with their waists wringing about.

"As expected of Phoenix Sect Master; these little gimmicks of mine, really are inadequate in front of Phoenix Sect Master." As the young man landed, the brilliance of the sun and moon finally vanished as well. Yet he didn't land on his seat, and instead landed in front of Divine Phoenix Sect's seating area, less than a mere ten steps away from Feng Xue'er's seat.

He let go of the two women, took a step forward, as he slightly raised his hand, his eyes narrowed halfway: "Sun Moon Divine Hall's Ye Xinghan, greets Phoenix Sect Master. I have already heard Phoenix Sect Master's prestige for a long time, to be able to meet today is the blessing of my three lifetimes."

"What? Ye Xinghan!?"

Hearing this youth reveal his name, the audience instantly cried out in surprise. Because this was the name of Sun Moon Divine Hall's Young Hall Master! The person from the <Sun Moon Divine Hall> this time was actually the Young Hall Master!

Though Feng Hengkong had already learned that Ye Xinghan was unbridled with women, he didn't expect him to be so debauched. He let out a faint smile and said: "Young Hall Master's words are too strong. Rather, Young Hall Master's name is like a clap of thunder that pierces the ear. Meeting you today, your excellence is superior to your reputation Young Hall Master's seat is to the right side of Elder Ling. Three honored guests, please enter your seats."

"No need to hurry." Yet Ye Xinghan leisurely rebuffed. His gaze shifted and fell upon Feng Xue'er's body. A pair of long and narrow eyes instantly squinted, as they radiated an extremely scorching light...

Up until now, it could be said that Ye Xinghan has had his way with countless women. And the women who he took a fancy to, their looks, physique were all one chosen from a thousand. It could be said that his immunity toward women's looks and disposition was extremely high, yet at the moment he saw Feng Xue'er, he felt all of the blood in his entire body start to boil, as every single cell in his body throbbed madly.

For the first time in his life, Ye Xinghan had a feeling of not daring to believe that she actually exists, while she was clearly before his eyes. It was even to the point where he couldn't imagine just what kind of celestial beauty was underneath this sort of air that transcended worldliness.

The desire to possess crazily sprouted and grew within his chest cavity and soul At the same time, her physique was more so unparalleled under heaven...

She was simply the most flawless woman, the most flawless incubator!

While he's aiming at Feng Xue'er, he doesn't know that someone else is also aiming at him... albeit with an entirely different purpose. If he's aiming for Feng Xue'er body, then this "someone" is aiming for his life! He's already been marked by the Death God himself and his life has long been forfeited but he just doesn't realize it yet...

And even without that "someone" come into action, there's no way for Ye Xinghan to be able to capture Feng Xue'er since their cultivation is far apart.

Ye Xinghan's cultivation realm is only at the 8th level Tyrant Profound Realm while Feng Xue'er is already at the early stage of the Sovereign profound realm and this is not even her full potential. More than half of her strength is currently sealed by Xiaotao.

If the seal is released, then Feng Xue'er will undoubtedly become the strongest in this <Blue Pole Star>! Of course, that's not including Issei's group into the fray...

Nobody knows about her sudden increase in cultivation since it's hidden from the entire world.

They can only see that her cultivation realm is at the half-step sovereign realm... Nobody will be able to tell her true cultivation realm unless they're a Godly being such as Xiaotao.

What's even more laughable is that this Ye Xinghan's age is already at the hundreds while Feng Xue'er is only sixteen years of age this year... Truly an ugly toad dreams of eating swan meat.

(AN: An ugly toad dreams of eating swan meat = an impossible and unrealistic dream or someone who doesn't know their place).

Perhaps if Xue'er is still at her previous cultivation realm, Ye Xinghan will still have a chance to come out victorious with his combat experience along with some things he prepared beforehand, and he can take advantage of her naivety as well.

But now... now that Feng Xue'er is already at the Monarch level, and her naivety has been toned down under Xiaotao and Issei's guidance, Ye Xinghan won't have that luxury anymore...

If they do fight, Feng Xue'er will be able to slap Ye Xinghan to death in one move and he won't even have the chance to fight back at all...

"Could this Phoenix goddess be, the Princess Snow known as the number one beauty of Profound Sky?" Staring at Feng Xue'er, Ye Xinghan spoke with his eyes pursed up.

Everyone in the world knew the name of Princess Snow, and everyone in the world also knew to what extent Divine Phoenix Sect protected Princess Snow. Therefore, even if one had millions of intentions toward Princess Snow, they definitely shouldn't, and also wouldn't dare to reveal such intentions in front of Feng Hengkong and Divine Phoenix Sect's crowd.

Yet this Ye Xinghan had the gaze of a wolf, his wrists rolling, not concealing his desire that was as scorching as a fiery inferno in the slightest No one knew if it was because his desire had gotten to his self-control, or he simply wasn't afraid of Divine Phoenix Sect's fury at all.

The various elders and disciples of Divine Phoenix Sect all revealed the expression of anger. A few core disciples were already on the verge of exploding into a flight of rage, their fists clenched tightly, as they wished they could immediately rush up and fight Ye Xinghan to the death.

Princess Snow was their jewel of the Divine Phoenix Empire, the sacred goddess in everyone's hearts. They definitely would not allow anyone to taint or lay a finger on her even if it were laying a finger in terms of gaze and words!

"This bastard He's courting death!" Feng Ximing's hands clenched tightly, his finger joints making "pop pop" sounds. Who would've thought that Feng Ximing's words are true... Ye Xinghan is indeed "courting" death and he has succeeded! Death will come to him soon enough...

The other princes were also gnashing their teeth in anger However, the identity of <Sun Moon Divine Hall's Young Hall Master> caused them to not dare to act rashly at all, even though they were extremely furious That was the Young Hall Master of a Sacred Ground! The future ruler of a Sacred Ground!

If they shed all pretenses of cordiality with this Ye Xinghan, that would undoubtedly be having a fallout with the entire Sun Moon Divine Hall! Even though Divine Phoenix Sect was the number one great sect of Profound Sky, they still didn't have the courage to shed all pretenses with a Sacred Ground yet Unless they are forced till their last straw.

Contrary to one's expectations, Feng Hengkong instead had a calm expression. He said to Feng Xue'er: "Xue'er, this one is Sun Moon Divine Hall's Young Hall Master Ye Xinghan. Even though he is lustful by nature and unbridled with women, he can still be considered a seldom outstanding youth. Say hello to him."

Feng Hengkong's words made it hard for people to make out the negative connotation, but this tone of extreme dullness, was already faintly revealing the fury hidden behind his endurance.

But even after waiting for a while, they don't hear nor see any movement from her. It's like she's in a daze in her seat and doesn't realize everyone's eyes are on her at all.

She kept looking at the clouds in the sky... She looks quite silly right now but Ye Xinghan's mouth started twitching a little since he thought that he's being ignored...

"Xue'er?" Feng Hengkong called her once again and thankfully it manages to snap her out of her daze.

"A-Ah? Yes, royal father?" She let out a slight stutter and hastily pay attention to her royal father.

Then Feng Hengkong repeated his previous words albeit feeling a little awkward.

Only then Feng Xue'er stood up, and lightly bowed: "Xue'er greets Young Hall Master Ye."

Feng Xue'er's voice was gentle like water, and misty as the cloud, making Ye Xinghan's heart and soul surge from listening to it.

He stared at Feng Xue'er and said with a grinning face: "Young Sis Xue'er is being too unfamiliar. The address of Young Hall Master Ye is both vapid and foreign, just call me Big Brother Ye. Young Sis Xue'er's voice is like the voice of a goddess, more beautiful than anything I can imagine. Being known as the number one beauty of the Profound Sky, your visage must be more so incomparably gorgeous. I wonder if I can have the honor, to witness Young Sis Xue'er's otherworldly charming looks."

"Crack!"

A deep crack instantly appeared on the chair under Feng Ximing. He clenched his teeth tightly, and was just about to stand, but was pulled back by a huge hand right away. Feng Feiyan pressed him down and said with a low voice: "Do not fly into a rage. How could Sect Master allow him to lay his finger on Xue'er in the slightest."

Feng Ximing's chest moved up and down, his eyes bloodshot, but he still suppressed his anger with great effort, enduring with effort and didn't act up again.

Feng Xue'er replied with a gentle and calm voice: "Please forgive Xue'er for refusing. Xue'er's looks are crude, and difficult to enter by Young Hall Master's eyes."

Ye Xinghan burst into loud laughter: "If this number one beauty of the world could also be called 'crude', then there wouldn't be any woman that could be viewed in this world. Since Young Sis Xue'er isn't willing then that's fine. This place is under the gaze of the masses, how can Young Sis Xue'er's otherworldly charms be tainted by the gazes of a bunch of common folks. Going face to face with Young Sis Xue'er some other day, and appreciate you alone, wouldn't that be more pleasant Hahahaha!"

Amidst the wanton laughter, Ye Xinghan turned around, drew the two women toward him, as he walked toward his seat with undisciplined steps. However, after having seen Feng Xue'er's fantastical figure that was as illusory as a goddess, he felt the two women as charming as flowers beside him were simply vulgar to the extreme, causing him to no longer have the desire to feel them up.

The moment Ye Xinghan entered the seats, Ling Kun immediately moved over to him and said with an extremely quiet voice: "Young Hall Master, so it seems your purpose for coming personally, is as expectedly this Princess Snow."

Ye Xinghan's palm inserted into the bosom clothing of the woman on his right, kneading wantonly, his eyes queer and obscene: "At the first glance of her, I already knew this name of number one beauty of Profound Sky was indeed well-deserved. Only today did this young master find out, that there would actually be such a perfect woman in this world. Just her silhouette and presence was already enough to subdue this young master Heh!"

"Seems like, Young Hall Master is resolute on this." Ling Kun smiled faintly: "But it seems that Young Hall Master was a bit too hasty. At this Divine Phoenix Sect, Princess Snow can be considered the greatest taboo!"

"Too hasty? HAHAHAHA!" Ye Xinghan laughed wildly: "In the world of I, Ye Xinghan, there had never been such a phrase of too hasty! The woman I took a fancy for, they think they can stop me with just their Divine Phoenix Sect!?"

Ye Xinghan extended his slender finger, and gently stroked along the waist of the woman on his leg, as a dangerous smile emerged on his face: "Elder Ling, do you believe me In no more than three days, this Princess Snow will completely become my, Ye Xinghan's, woman. Her body, her bloodline would all forever belong to me, Ye Xinghan. Even if their Divine Phoenix Sect does not admit it, they'll have to admit!"

Ling Kun's eyelids jumped Words coming from Ye Xinghan's mouth, definitely wouldn't be baseless words. Since he dares to say so, then he possessed definite assurance. He once again lowered his voice, and laughed along with him: "Young Hall Master's words, I naturally believe them ten thousand times. Then, I'll congratulate Young Hall Master ahead of time."

Turning his eyes to the side, Ye Xinghan looked at Ling Kun: "That woman with the <Nine Profound Exquisite body> whose named Xia Qingyue... It can't be that Elder Ling has forgotten, right?"

"Heh, how could this old man forgot about this matter. It was a pleasure doing business with Young Hall Master." Ling Kun let out a complacent smile whenever he remembered the reward he received from Ye Xinghan.

"I believe Young Master Ye have thoroughly enjoyed that 'girl', right? And the other women from her sect should also be one of a kind as well." Ling Kung asked with a knowing look.

"Hmph! You think my cultivation realm would only be in this stage if I already got her by now?" Ye Xinghan scoffed.

"What? Does Young Master Ye mean you still haven't..." Ling Kun said in surprise.

"Indeed! It seems that the subordinates I sent to fetch them are incompetent and they somehow come across a peak level Tyrant Profound Beast along the way and got killed by it... They must've become greedy and thought that they could take on a peak level Tyrant Profound Beast on their own. No matter, I will go fetch them on my own after this tournament ends... But you better not be lying about them or you will surely pay for the consequences..." Ye Xinghan narrowed his eyes at Ling Kun threatening him...

"This old man, of course, wouldn't dare lie about them even if he's given ten lives!" Ling Kun said solemnly.

"...Well, considering you still dare appear before me even though you already received your payment then I doubt you're lying... So be it." Ye Xinghan said dismissively.

There's another life inscription inside Ye Xinghan's subordinates' body just like the one with the Burning heaven clan from before. If they're killed then the other side could tell just what caused their death.

And the reason why they "somehow" got killed by a Tyrant profound beast was because of Esdeath, obviously...

She can tell that they have an inscription inside their body and since she doesn't want to bother her Master with this useless stuff, she just fed them to a Tyrant Profound Beast when she's done with her "investigation"...

First, she crippled their cultivation then cut off both of their legs so they couldn't run just in case... But she does let them keep their arms since she wanted to see just how long could they last.

She told the Tyrant profound beasts to take their time on them while she watches... She wanted to see just how long they can last. She started taking notes just what is the "limit" of each "rat" she caught.

At first, she got them killed accidentally but as time goes by, she becomes more proficient in her "investigation" art...

Looks like Esdeath somehow gained Issei's cruel side... Sirius and Altair also had some cruelty inside them but it's not as potent as Esdeath. They're more indifferent about this kind of thing while Esdeath seems to enjoy it...

That's why Ye Xinghan thought that his subordinates met with an unfortunate accident and got killed by a peak level Tyrant Profound Beast while in fact, they're not... Those beasts are just enjoying free meals.

It's not every day that they could feast on a Tyrant realm cultivator flesh...

Unknown to everyone present here... There's someone situated in the shadow near Ye Xinghan's location.

It was none other than Naru who decided to follow Ye Xinghan since it seems that he's the main culprit behind those "rats" that keep coming to the palace vicinity.

Issei has told her to return from her investigation but she decided to stick around for a little longer and when she just about to leave, she overheard Ye Xinghan and Ling Kun conversation.

Her red eyes glow briefly in the dark but it went unnoticed...

"...My King, I have something to report..." She sent a voice transmission towards Issei through her protective charm.

When Naru is still in the middle of conversing with Issei. At the next moment, a gentle breeze suddenly blew over, bringing along the faint aroma of flowers that made anyone who scented it feel intoxicated. Suddenly, the fluttering of many flower petals that came from who knows where suddenly appeared above the arena.

Whether the petals were pure white, captivating red, or gloriously yellow they danced, filling the sky with extreme beauty.

"It smells so good..."

"Did some goddess arrive?"

"It must be a Goddess from the Sacred Grounds that have come I'm too lucky today, not only have I seen Princess Snow, I even have the chance to see the grace of a fairy from the Sacred Grounds!"

Seeing the sky filled with dancing petals and the touching fragrance of flowers, every man in the audience became excited as their scorching gazes looked up above.

The floating petals began to become more and more crowded together, as the fragrance also became more and more rich and intoxicating. Suddenly, a huge ball of petals extravagantly burst open in mid-air. Under the enormous rain of flower petals, an endlessly charming silhouette emerged.

This was a man handsome and pretty to an extreme degree. A suit of snow-white attire, his black hair was like ink, the color of his face fair like jade, his facial features are as if they had been carved out by an artist, delicate beyond compare. His brows were as slender as the new moon, slightly bent and raised on one end, his eyes were like the cherry blossom, and the fluid gaze like a young girl's stirred within.

Everyone below raised their head up high and looked at this man who was slowly floating down with endless petals in a stupefied manner. No matter men or women, all of their hearts birthed a feeling of being ashamed of their inferiority.

The moment Ye Xinghan and Ling Kun saw this man emerging, the expressions on their faces simultaneously changed But it definitely was neither shock nor fear, and they were instead showing an expression of extreme distress. Ling Kun roared with a low voice: "Fuck! Why is it this guy!"

The moment Feng Hengkong saw the flower petal rain down as far as one's eyes could see, he had already stared blankly for a bit. As the snow-white figure appeared amidst the flower petals, Feng Hengkong this dignified Divine Phoenix Emperor, Sect Master of Divine Phoenix Sect, actually quivered from his entire body, as his pupils even contracted for a split second. He hastily roared: "Ximing go go welcome him in our stead."

Before Feng Ximing had the chance to respond, the man's gaze had already fallen upon Feng Hengkong's body. Instantly, his slender and curved brows stuck up on their ends even more. His fluid glance flowed, his hands covered his mouth, as he revealed an overbearingly flirtatious smile. From his mouth, a tender and gentle voice came out: "Little Kongkong, this one has finally met you again. Not being able to meet you for a hundred years, this one has missed you to death, you know Have you missed this one?"

"..."

"..."

The entire arena instantly became so quiet that a needle falling could be heard. Everyone without exception was flabbergasted, as their eyes and jaws fell to the ground.

This this this this this person...

Just was he a man or a woman Or was he half man half woman Or was he neither a man nor a woman...

This expression this posture these eyes and brows this voice and referring to themselves with third person wait! The "Little Kongkong" he was saying could it be...

Could it be he was calling Phoenix Sect Master Feng Hengkong!?

Holy shit!!!

Feng Hengkong was already about to find a place to hastily hide himself, but a "Little Kongkong" dropped out of the sky. This made the Phoenix Sect Master, who didn't have a change of expression under Ye Xinghan's insolence, shiver from his entire body, his expressions convulsing as he nearly sprayed out a mouthful of old blood on the spot.

Feng Xue'er was a little surprised by this... man? sudden appearance. She has to admit that he's indeed quite pretty... But when she compared her Grandmaster with him, they're basically too far apart...

This newcomer is using some kind of charming art to increase his overall appearance and aura, as can be seen from those good smells he emits just now, but her Grandmaster doesn't need to do anything of the sort... One gaze would naturally be drawn in towards his figure as if there's some sort of invisible suction force attracting them to his direction.

Feng Ximing hastily greeted up with great anxiety, as he spoke in a respectful manner: "Junior Divine Phoenix Prince, Feng Ximing, greets Senior Ji. Welcome to the Divine Phoenix Empire, Senior Ji, your seat has already been prepared. I respectfully ask Senior Ji to enter the seats."

"Yah!" Ji Qianrou's coquettish eyes as if waves of water, measuring up Feng Ximing from head to toe. That gaze as gentle as water, made Feng Ximing's entire body feel numb.

With his waist swinging, he walked toward Feng Ximing with extreme amorousity, as he began to giggle tenderly: "So it was actually Little Mingming, no wonder you are so handsome, almost catching up to my Little Kongkong. When this one saw you last time, you were still a two or three years old little baby. In the blink of an eye, you've actually grown so much. Come, let this one feel you up, and see if you've gotten more robust."

As Ji Qianrou walked, his soft waist turned like a dancing water snake, the two halves of his hips swung left and right. If he was a woman, that definitely must be the scenery that made one unable to take their eyes away and even sprout out blood...

But now, all the men only felt their stomach churning from inside out.

This was someone of the Sacred Grounds?

Was this really someone of the Sacred Grounds!?

Before Feng Ximing was even able to regain his senses, his hand was already taken up by Ji Qianrou and gently stroked in his palms: "Little Mingming's skin really is so smooth, this one likes the feeling of smooth skin the most. Little Mingming needs to keep maintaining this, okay"

As if just waking up from a dream, Feng Ximing retracted his hand like a lightning bolt. His body retreated non-stop, as he felt his heart cramping and a thick layer of goosebumps rose up on his entire body Especially the hand that was touched by Ji Qianrou, it was simply like tens of millions of ants were crawling on it, causing him to wish dearly that he could immediately chop his entire hand off.

He finally understood why his royal father who did not dread heaven and earth would reveal a terrified expression the moment he heard the name "Ji Qianrou", lest that he was unable to hide in time. Cold sweat drenched his forehead, as he said in an extremely sorry state: "S-S-Se-Senior Ji, the Ranking Tournament is a-a-a-about to start, I ask Senior Ji to e-enter the seats."

Such a simple sentence, Feng Ximing couldn't help but to speak it stutteringly and with incoherence. Ji Qianrou kneaded his fingers, as he said flirtatiously: "Little Mingming, what are you being so hurried for. This one hasn't given Little Kongkong a deeply affectionate hug Little Kongkong, this one has already come, why aren't you rushing up yet? Could it be in these hundred years, you didn't miss this one at all?"

Feng Hengkong's entire body trembled, as his neck even grew thicker by two sizes from stifling himself. He finally couldn't endure any longer, and roared angrily: "Ji Qianrou! If you dare to babble nonsense like this again, We We We will throw you out!"

To be able to make the dignified Phoenix Sect Master lose his control and act up under the eyes of everyone, Ji Qianrou was probably the only one in Profound Sky Continent who could.

Facing the berserk Feng Hengkong, not only did Ji Qianrou not panic at all, he instead laughed tenderly again: "Hehehehe, you are shy again. Little Kongkong really hasn't changed from before. Alright alright, this one will just comply with you. After this Ranking Tournament is finished, you'll have to properly treat this one to drink, okay Little Mingming can also come too~."

After he finished speaking, with a twist of his waist, Ji Qianrou walked toward his seat gracefully and delicately.

Feng Hengkong: "!@#^#!$..."

Feng Hengkong sat down at once, his forehead fully covered with cold sweat. At this time, he suddenly felt the Feng Xue'er on his side was currently looking at him with an extremely strange gaze. His eyes stared wide, his expression instantly became somewhat frantic, as hastily explained: "Xue'er, it's definitely not what you think. That Ji Qianrou, he's just a lunatic, Xue'er does not need to mind him."

"I know, royal father." Feng Xue'er nodded, then began to lightly laugh: "Little Kongkong Hehe, so royal father's name can actually be so cute too."

At the same time, she also wonders if she's allowed to give her Grandmaster a cute nickname as well... Little White? Little Sese? Hum, it's harder than she thought it would be. Her Grandmaster's name is too short after all... Not that's a bad thing or anything.

She kinda likes her Grandmaster's name since it sounded quite unique for her...

Feng Hengkong: "!@^&#$*^#$%*!@#"

He's done! He's done for! All of his dignity as a father has disappeared without a trace! His own daughter just called him cute!

He wishes that he could slap Ji Qianrou to death but he couldn't... This is exactly how it feels to be slapped in the face with so much force that their teeth get knocked off and forced to swallow their broken teeth at the same time! They can only hold it in since the other party background is terrifying in and of itself, and that's not including the person himself!

Supreme Ocean Palace's seat was precisely to the right side of Sun Moon Divine Hall. After Ji Qianrou sat down, the Ye Xinghan and Ling Kun to the side were both sitting upright and still; let alone greeting with words, it was like they hadn't seen him at all. Ji Qianrou voluntarily moved closer, and said full of tender feelings: "Little Hanhan, we haven't met in so many years, this one has missed you to death, you know. Have you missed this one?"

Ye Qinghan's face convulsed, his chest undulated, as he stiffly forced out two words from the gap between his teeth: "Shut up!"

"Hmph!" Facing Ye Xinghan's rough manner, Ji Qianrou spat, and poutingly turned his head away: "So nasty, all of you stinky men are the same, each one more unfeeling and heartless than the previous. This one can't be bothered with you, hmph!"

The muscle on Ye Qinghan's face spasmed to a great extent, but he finally let out a big breath of relief. But right away, this Ji Qianrou who claimed that he "can't be bothered with you" once again moved closer with the tenderness of soft water.

"Little Hanhan, do you really not want to pay me attention anymore? In these years, this one really has missed you, y'know."

"Look, the current Little Kongkong is much more mature than a hundred years ago, and has a more manly feeling He really is too enchanting. Compared to this kind of little fresh meat like Little Hanhan, as expected, this one still likes Little Kongkong's type the most."

"Aiya, Little Hanhan, why have the women beside you grown more and more lacking. Look at this skin, so rough, much more lackluster compared to this one's."

"Little Hanhan"

That tender and sweet voice made Ye Xinghan's heart spasm, his limbs convulse, his meridians twitch His entire body was spasming, simply in a living hell. If not for the fact that he couldn't beat Ji Qianrou, and was also unwilling to conflict with this monster who could dismember someone's corpse with a sweet smile, he really wanted to rip his head off and stick it up to his ass.

"Elder Ling" Ye Xinghan said gnawing his teeth: "Three pieces of Purple Veined Heaven Crystals switch seats with this Young Master!"

A row of cold sweat instantly dripped down Ling Kun's forehead, as he said hastily: "This this cough cough, this isn't a problem of Heaven Crystals or Divine Crystals. This old man is already old, can't bear too many hardships, and still want to live a few years longer"

Ye Xinghan: "..."

The starting time of the ranking tournament had already arrived, yet Absolute Monarch Sanctuary's seat was still empty. Feng Hengkong did not declare the start of the Ranking Tournament here and now, and instead stared at the sky above If the other three Sacred Grounds came late, he could choose to not wait, but for Absolute Monarch Sanctuary, he had to wait.

Without making Feng Hengkong wait for too long, an aged yet peaceful voice distantly came from the skies above.

"Sigh This old one has come late due to affairs that had to be taken care of, and has made everyone wait for a long time. I'm ashamed, extremely ashamed."

The voice was illusory and lingering as if it came from the end of the horizon. At the same time, a gentle yet boundless aura descended from the sky, enveloping the entire arena. This aura that was rich and dense to the extreme, made one instantly think of the ocean, the cosmos, the abyss Endlessly vast, majestic without limit.

A silhouette also slowly floated down from above. This was an elderly man in a light yellow robe with a horsetail whisk in hand. With white hair and brows, the air and disposition of a celestial, his face gentle, as though a Taoist celestial who was about to ascend to the heavens.

When the other three Sacred Ground's people came, Feng Hengkong only stood up to greet. But this time, Feng Hengkong directly left his seat and greeted forward with hurried steps. Behind him, Feng Feiyan and the crowd of elders also left their seats and followed in succession.

Feng Hengkong came before the elderly man with quick steps, and said as he saluted respectfully: "Junior Feng Hengkong of Divine Phoenix Sect, greets Spiritual Master Ancient Blue."

Of the Four Great Sacred Grounds, Absolute Monarch was head. While the elderly man before him was a being of Grand Elder rank at Absolute Monarch Sanctuary. Even the Saint Emperor would need to pay him some respect. And since always, the interactions and communication between Divine Phoenix Sect and Absolute Monarch Sanctuary had been the closest. Even though it wasn't apparent, Divine Phoenix Sect indeed always had the intention to huddle close with the Absolute Monarch Sanctuary,

Spiritual Master Ancient Blue didn't have the slightest imposing manner nor arrogance as a Grand Elder of a Sacred Ground. With a swing of his horsetail brush, he returned a salutation and said while laughing: "This old one has arrived late for reasons, I have truly committed offense, and I hope Phoenix Sect Master is magnanimous in forgiveness."

Feng Hengkong said: "What are you saying, Spiritual Master Ancient Blue. Your elderly grace coming personally is already the greatest honor of our Divine Phoenix Sect This junior heard that Spiritual Master Ancient Blue has taken a liking of someone and wanted to take him in to be your disciple. To able to enter Spiritual Master Ancient Blue sight, this honored disciple must possess an extraordinary aptitude. This junior wonder if we could get the chance to personally see him?"

"Haha." Spiritual Master Ancient Blue laughed lightly: "This old one indeed had indeed wanted to make him be a disciple of my Monarch Sanctuary... But he refused my offer."

What?! A monarch wanted to take someone to be his personal disciple! Anyone would've scrambled forward even if they will only receive a chance to be his disciple and yet this particular idiot just refused his offer?! This is really a piece of big news!

"Oh? To think that he dares to refuse your grace offer. Just who is he?" Feng Hengkong felt intrigued by this revelation. Just who dares to refuse an offer from one of the sacred grounds like this...

"He's someone I met by chance during my travel... He should be only over fifteen years old this year and he came from the <Blue Wind Nation>." Spiritual Master Ancient Blue reminisced his meeting with that particular youngster.

Even though his offer has been declined, he doesn't feel humiliated in the slightest... If it was someone else from the Sacred Grounds and considering their background, it won't be weird if they become angry out of spite.

<Blue Wind Nation>? That small country? How can it be possible that such a small country produces someone that could interest someone like Spiritual Master Ancient Blue?

"His name is Xia Yuanba and even though he's only fifteen, his cultivation surprisingly already reaches early-stage throne... And his physique is very similar to the physique I knew. The reason why he refuses my offer was because he already belongs to another sect, and he's clearly a kind youngster that knows how to repay gratitude since even when he knows of my background he still refuses my offer..." The Spiritual Master Ancient Blue nodded approvingly.

That doesn't mean he would give up though. He might as well take in this particular sect under his protection as well so that he won't feel conflicted about leaving his sect.

Xia Yuanba's physique is really unique and too rare to be ignored just like that. The Spiritual Master Ancient Blue reckons that if Xia Yuanba entered his monarch sanctuary then it will bring prosperity like never before...

15 years old throne? Quite talented but it's nothing really that outstanding either... Everyone thought at the same time inside their mind. Well, no matter what it's the monarch business. They don't dare to say anything about it...

If they knew that it only took Xia Yuanba a week to reach <Emperor Profound Realm> from middle-stage <Earth Profound Realm>, then perhaps they wouldn't be having these thoughts...

Ling Kun who heard Xia Yuanba's name shivered slightly...

Isn't this Xia Yuanba is that youngster from the tournament at the villa? To think that he already reaches the throne level in less than a month from Earth Profound Realm...

And what makes matter worse... Isn't he the little brother of that Xia Qingyue?!

If Xia Yuanba really entered the Monarch sanctuary and find out that her elder sister's fate later then... He would be doomed!

Ye Xinghan might be fine since he's the young master of the Sun Moon Divine Hall, but he's just an elder of his sect! If Xia Yuanba wanted his life then his sect would give him away without a doubt!

Compared to Ye Xinghan's status, he's nothing but a measly elder! His sect will even give him away gladly once they know that he just give away someone with special physique such as Xia Qingyue to another sect just for his personal gains!

"Xia Yuanba? Why does this name sound oddly familiar..." Ye Xinghan muttered to himself. But since this name obviously belongs to a man, he soon throws it to the back of his mind.

He's not interested in man after all... It's this freak Ji Qianrou job to think about man! Not his!

Ling Kun body jerked once again when he heard Ye Xinghan mutter but he chooses to just feign ignorance... He started formulating a plan inside his mind... Thankfully this Xia Yuanba refused the Spiritual Master Ancient Blue offer so he can still do something about it.

He decided that he needed to go to Xia Yuanba's to nip future trouble from the bud... It's fine... Everything will be alright... He just needs to kill Xia Yuanba's and everything will be fine.

"I see... Then Spiritual Master Ancient Blue, please," Feng Hengkong decided to stop his inquiry since it's not really his business.

Feng Hengkong extended his hand, gesturing at Absolute Monarch Sanctuary's seat.

As Ancient Blue entered his seat, Ling Kun, Ye Xinghan and even Ji Qianrou all stood up and respectfully conducted a rite for juniors toward seniors in dead seriousness. It can be seen from this act alone that the Absolute Monarch Sanctuary is clearly the strongest of all the sacred grounds.

Every one of the Four Great Sacred Grounds are all present now, as the site had also become entirely silent. It was finally time for this Seven Nation Ranking Tournament to begin...

Then Feng Hengkong announced about the tournament being push forward because of the abnormality caused by the Primordial Profound Ark...

"...Therefore, in order to explore the Primordial Profound Ark tomorrow in collaboration, this session of Ranking Tournament's match schedule, will also undoubtedly be compressed to a great degree The top three would need to be decided by today!"

The moment Feng Hengkong's words were spoken, the entire arena became turbulent. They all understood the words, the Primordial Profound Ark would open ahead of time And at the same time, this session of the Ranking Tournament would be compressed into a single day Which meant that it was to be concluded today!

Most of them here are very unwilling and unsatisfied with this outcome but there's nothing they can do...

While the real culprit behind this abnormality is freely taking a stroll inside the Primordial Profound Ark...

...

-Primordial Profound Ark Interior-

"I see... Um, don't worry. I don't blame your decision, good work." Issei nodded slightly after he heard Naru's report.

[Yes! It's my pleasure to be of use to you, my King.] Naru said respectfully.

[Should I kill them both right now, my King?] Naru asked.

"No need. I will take care of it myself after I'm done here." Issei said coldly.

[Understood!]

After a brief exchange, Naru ended her report.

No wonder he felt ill intent coming from that Ling Kun during the tournament before... So it's because of this.

Then it's all became clear just why did Ye Xinghan suddenly send someone to the Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace.

Well, just perfect. Since that Ling Kun is from the <Mighty Heavenly Sword Region>, he might as well include him in his plan as well. If the <Mighty Heavenly Sword Region> wanted revenge then he will gladly oblige and if not then so be it.

As of right now, the <Mighty Heavenly Sword Region> hasn't really done anything that earns his wrath just yet. He doesn't put that Xuanyuan Yufeng incident in his mind at all... It's just some trivial stuff not worth mentioning.

"Just as you expected, Ise! The spatial laws in the interior are totally different from the outside world! It seems like the actual amount of space in the interior is actually much, much larger than seen from the outside! And it is indeed very similar to the Secret Heaven Basin Realm..." Jasmine voiced out her excitement.

"Ah... I'm now 100% certain that this Ark is indeed created by the Heretic God himself." Issei nodded calmly while he observes his surroundings. The faint divine energy covering this Ark indeed belongs to the Heretic God himself but there's something else mixed with it...

The Ark internal structure itself is nothing special compared to the <Hanging Garden of Babylon>. What makes it special is that inside this Ark, there's another separate realm just like a pocket dimension. It's also kind of similar to Semiramis and Scathach domain he visited before.

But ever since they became his wives, they never really used their previous domain anymore. Well, Scathach sometimes goes back to the <Land of the Shadow> to check some things but it doesn't really take much of her time.

And when he asked Semiramis out of curiosity, she responded sweetly: "My place is right next to you, dearest. Why would I go back to that lonely place when I have you right here with me?" Needless to say, they had another wild night that day...

This was the inside of the Primordial Profound Ark, in front of his eyes was astonishingly an endless dark green grassland, as far as he could see. The end of the grassland merged with the dusky sky.

The entire grassland was incomparably flat and its edges could not be seen.

There are surprisingly many profound beasts across the grassland but all of them are shivering on their spot not daring to move in the slightest... They take a pose of total submission and lay flat on the ground towards Issei's direction.

Jasmine and Xun'er once again felt amazed by this sight... Even if it was them at full strength, these beasts would've probably still attacked them all the same. But just from Issei's presence alone they instantly become docile like a kitten and don't dare to do anything at all...

They reckon even if Issei decided to kill them one by one, they still wouldn't dare to move from their spot and only await for their death.

Not that they can blame them considering his real identity...

"There are no <Seed> inside this Ark, Jasmine." Issei suddenly said.

"What?! How do you know that?" Jasmine shouted in surprise.

"Well, for one, I don't sense the energy signature of the <Seed> usually give off and secondly, those profound beasts just told me. If they know about the <Seed> then they would've noticed it right away and perhaps even ate it just like that Tyrant Profound Beast at the heavenly basin realm." Issei said while his eyes started shining by a little which made the profound beasts flinched. They hastily nodded their heads confirming his previous words.

"Hmph, so unlucky... So what is this place for then?" Jasmine pouted slightly feeling disappointed that there are no <Seed> here.

Xun'er who's by her side smiled wryly. Did her daughter forget that they're extremely lucky already? They've already found four seed... And it's only been like over a month at that.

"Well, who knows... These profound beasts don't know either. Let's just explore a bit more for now." Issei shrugged before he started to fly forward heading towards the center of the Ark where he sensed something.

Then they go deeper into the Ark...

...

After proceeding onward for a bit more, the scenery changed itself from grassland into that of a vast wasteland...

"...This is an independent world's wasteland." Jasmine said indifferently: "The first place we landed in was basically this world's only green area. All other places are wastelands, and the deeper we go, the more desolate it becomes... This place is basically..."

"Dying." Issei finished Jasmine's words.

"Indeed..." She nodded: "Now that I thought about it, you should also realize that not only are the profound beasts here few in number, but they all also have hard outer armor. They're all profound beasts that are extremely resistant to extremely poor environments. After a few more millennia, these extremely durable profound beasts will also gradually go extinct. By that time, this world will completely become a dead world... It looks like we really can't gain anything here..."

This is an independent world, not a natural world born from the large universe. Since it is a self-made independent world, its existence relies on the support of certain forces. Once the power that supports this world disappears, this world will also slowly and naturally become desolate and die...

"Surely there's something we can find here... Don't you think it's weird if the Heretic God created an Ark like this without any purpose, dear?" Xun'er voiced out her guess.

"Well... Maybe you're right, mother. But I can't really sense anything of value in this place... How about you, Ise? You sense anything special?" Jasmine asked Issei.

"Hmm, I do." Issei waved his hand gently while his fingers glowed in a red aura and suddenly the previous barren empty land before them had disappeared and a dark blue wall stood tall there. It was so tall that it blocked the view of the sky and so wide that the ends could not be seen.

Directly in front of them, the bluish-black wall had an opened stone door. The stone door was three hundred meters tall and three hundred meters wide. Everywhere else was filled with many stone windows that were tens of meters tall and wide. Between the windows was just a stretch of grey, it was impossible to tell what was inside.

Both Jasmine and Xun'er were feeling taken aback seeing this structure suddenly appeared right in front of them but soon they snapped out of their daze.

"This is... From the looks of it, it probably is an ancient massive fortress!" Jasmine carefully said while inspecting the fortress before them: "Its aura is extremely old and it should be a building of the Primordial Era. It might be something that existed along with the Primordial Profound Ark and not something built in later."

Even though this fortress is extremely old, the strength of the profound formation on its surface has not completely disappeared. The entire fortress is being covered by a massive primordial protective profound formation. Not only can the primordial protective profound formation protect the fortress from being damaged by nature, but it also possesses immense hiding abilities! Though the fortress is massive, unless one comes within three hundred meters of it, one would not be able to detect its existence.

But with Issei's mastery of the space laws, forcing the fortress to appear before them is an easy task.

He basically just "catch" the fortress and brought it before them...

Jasmine hesitated for a while before continuing: "This primordial profound formation also seems to possess the spatial powers. If my guess is correct, this fortress is likely able to move on its own!"

"Your guess is right. This fortress indeed has the capability to move on its own... And something is residing within this fortress..." Issei nodded at Jasmine's words.

He can also sense that Bai'er soul seems to be attracted to something inside this fortress. Something that could make her soul be this out of sort must be something special... or perhaps precious...?

Well, he won't find the answer to that just by standing here... He started walking forward and both Jasmine and Xun'er followed suit right after.

Once again, they entered another realm. It was like they had stepped from one world into another. The light, ambiance, aura, space, even his sight and hearing sensitivity all underwent massive changes.

In front of them, was a massive and empty hall. Numerous extremely tall stone pillars stood within the hall. The stone tiles on its base, the walls surrounding it, the top and the enumerated stone pillars were all the same bluish-black color, and also emitted an antique smell and aura.

Issei's eyes swept across the surroundings as he slowly proceeded deeper into the fortress...

After walking for a while, they finally saw the end of the hall. On the walls surrounding it, there was a stone door every sixty meters. Some of the doors were open and some closed. Behind the open doors were paths that lead to unknown destinations. At the end of the hall was a huge, round stone stage. The stage was thirty meters tall and three hundred meters wide.

On the right of the stage were very tall stone stairs that led to the second level of the fortress.

"...There is no aura from any living things here, nor is there any aura left behind from anyone, other than us, who had just come in. This is most likely a long-forgotten primordial ground! We should take a look around. We might find some unusual discoveries. If we are able to obtain an artifact from the Primordial Era, even if it is the lowest grade, it would undoubtedly be a huge treasure." Jasmine said feeling a little excited once again.

Issei doesn't say anything in response while he still observes their surroundings. His eyes then locked on to the stone stairs that led downwards...

Because he can sense an extremely faint and weak residual soul coming from that direction.

Issei doesn't waste much time before he directly flew towards the source of the residual soul energy.

Jasmine and Xun'er were a bit surprised seeing Issei suddenly just flew down like that. But they also don't waste time either and followed right after him.

...

He steadily landed above the stage as he fixated on the position where the soul residue source is located. His eyes firmly fixated on the crack between two bluish-black rocks that were on the stone stage.

He focused between the two bluish-black rocks, at the narrow crack that was difficult to make out with the human eye, a faintly blinking red glow shot out.

"What did you find, Ise?" Jasmine who just caught up to him asked curiously.

Before Issei could answer her, Issei heard the soul residue voice coming from between the crack.

"Who are you" This is an incomparably soft and faint voice. That voice was very weak and seemed to a woman's voice. Yet, it was especially ethereal as well... Probably because it doesn't have much strength left within it.

This soul residue could disappear at any second and she's only "alive" until now just by her sheer will.

Although Issei could hear this residual soul voice clearly, it appears that Jasmine and Xun'er couldn't since they still had a clueless look on their face.

"...There's a soul residue under this crack and also a hidden space." Issei said slowly.

"A Soul residue?" Jasmine asked in surprise.

"Um, I just heard her spoke to me although it's very faint."

"...Then it should be an extremely weak residual soul, otherwise, we should be able to hear it as well. Since she didn't hesitate to consume her weakened soul energy to converse with you, it means that she seems to be interested in you, Ise... Well, probably because she wanted your help with something, obviously..." Jasmine rolled her eyes.

Why is it a woman again? Why are there so many women coming into contact with him?! Don't tell her that he would "revive" this soul residue as well and add another competitor into the fra- Bah! She meant that he will add another annoying bee to his side!

"Sky Poison Pearl" The ethereal voice resounded once again but this time it said something else.

"She just said <Sky Poison Pearl>." Issei muttered.

"..." Jasmine went silent after hearing Issei's words.

To think that this soul residue could recognize the <Sky Poison Pearl> inside his body... It looks like this soul residue is not simple...

She thought that this soul residue must've been the soul residue of someone who lost their lives when they tried their luck inside this Ark, but it seems that she's mistaken.

"Please find her"

"Only you can save her"

"Please find her"

The soul residue surprising fired a series of words at once... But after that, she becomes eerily silent...

Issei proceeded to lightly step onto the crack under him and before long the crack crumbled on itself opening a sizeable hole for him. The hole size is more than enough for his body to go through freely.

As both Jasmine and Xun'er gazed into the hole that was just created by Issei, they saw that there was indeed a hidden space underneath, and in the middle of this space, a red light swayed and flickered... What was hidden beneath here? Is it the treasure? Jasmine becomes increasingly intrigued the more she thought about it.

Xun'er who sees Jasmine's childish expression smiled warmly... Looks like staying by his side is indeed a good choice.

The hidden space beneath the platform was not deep, Issei had only descended twenty feet or so before his feet touched the icy, hard surface.

The area is not big, it was not even wider than thirty meters. The space was completely empty and clean, save for the middle of the area, where a ball of red light stood.

The ball was about Issei's height. It appeared to be uniformly round, and the red light it released would wax and wane, but the light was generally gentle and did not contain any attacking power.

Issei becomes a little dazed and strode over to stand directly in front of the ball of light. The red light was not intense, yet it was very thick, but it doesn't prevent Issei's vision at all... He can clearly see through it.

The reason why he becomes a little dazed because of the "content" inside or should he say, the person inside this ball of light is very similar to Bai'er... In terms of appearance, they are basically identical but what makes Issei become further taken aback is that their soul is also the same!

Issei has said that before even if Feng Hanxue and Feng Hanyue are twins, their souls are totally not the same. No matter how similar they are to each other, their souls are not the same at all.

The only case where a person's soul can be identical to each other is if one of them is being created based on the original one's soul. Or in short, a copy of the original soul.

The perfect example of this case is Ophis and Lilith themselves...

"What is it, Ise?" Jasmine strode over next to Issei.

The Profound Primordial Ark had existed for an extremely long time. But despite having existed since ancient times, this ball of light was still able to emit this red light. This was demonstrated just how unusual it was.

It even made Issei who's usually calm becomes a little dazed. So it must be something very special!

Sadly, she can't tell just what's inside this ball of light unlike Issei or her reaction would've been different.

She can tell that this is not a normal ball of light but rather a strong protective barrier. It may look like it has no ability to attack, but if someone had dared to touch it, it would have immediately launched a counterattack and its weakest counterattack would have been enough to kill someone of the lower realm tens of thousands of times over.

But she doesn't need to be worried about Issei being harmed by it. Even though it's a very strong protective barrier, if compared to his protective charm barrier alone, they're not on the same level at all. Even if this protective barrier created by Heretic God himself...

"You have finally come."

A voice as light as smoke slowly resounded in this area. This time, it was not a spirit sound transmission, but a real voice. Moreover, it was a voice belonging to a woman. This time even Jasmine and Xun'er could hear this voice clearly.

"...Who is she? The girl inside this barrier?" Issei doesn't sound the least bit surprised hearing the voice once again. He's more interested in this girl's identity inside of the barrier.

As Issei's voice fell, a dim white shadow slowly emerged from the side of the ball of red light it was the silhouette of a woman dressed in white. Her body was small and slightly bent and half her hair was white as well. All of this indicated that this was an elder who had long ago stepped into her twilight years.

The silhouette of the elderly lady in front of him seemed blurry. It was blurry to the point that it seemed like a floating column of white smoke that could be blown away by a gust of wind.

"I am a guardian I am guarding my little mistress" The old lady doesn't answer Issei's question right away but she introduced herself first in a light but an extremely ancient-sounding voice. If she was using spirit sound transmission, it could only be used once in a long time but now that she was talking face to face, she experienced no such obstacles, "I have always been looking for you... and I have been looking for you... for so long so long"

"You have been searching for him?" Jasmine said with knitted eyebrows feeling annoyed.

"I think what she meant is that she's looking for the <Sky Poison Pearl> dear..." Xun'er said wryly.

Looks like her daughter started to become quite sensitive whenever another girl is involved with him...

"I-I know that!" Jasmine said with a tinge of red adorning her comely face.

"Correct I controlled this profound ark jumping from dimension to dimension all for the sake of finding the <Sky Poison Pearl>" The woman said slowly.

"Wait a minute!" Jasmine's said lightly: "The profound ark you mentioned, is this huge profound ark that we are in right now? It is under your control?"

"In the beginning it was indeed under my control but at that time I had also been poisoned with a devilish poison and every breath would erode my life and very soul In order to retain my awareness so I could continue to guard my little mistress I gave up my body and a large portion of my soul what is left is only a lingering spirit who is powerless to pilot this profound ark but the profound ark followed the memory imprint I had left at the beginning relentlessly traveling through a set cycle of dimensions repeating endlessly each cycle lasting three hundred years the profound ark's energy has been continuously depleting and now its energy source has just about dried up."

"Thank the heavens for being merciful before my lingering spirit is extinguished and before the ark's destruction you have finally arrived"

"Your spirit is indeed on the brink of dissipation." Jasmine said in a dull voice laced with pity, "It might happen at any moment in fact, this will happen within the span of one hundred breaths! To be able to finally find the person she has been looking for just as she was about to disappear perhaps she doesn't need to be pitied. You're going to help her, Ise?"

Even though Jasmine disliked that there might be another woman joi- clamoring by his side, she still feels a bit impressed by this spirit determination. And they both also share the same condition as in being poisoned by their enemies... You could call it empathy or whatever if you want.

"I can't. Just like she said, she's nothing more than a lingering spirit... The reason why she's still here is because of her sheer will. Her soul essence has already dissipated a long time ago... It is a miracle in and of itself for her to be able to hold on for this long." Issei shook his head at Jasmine's question.

This spirit should be a person from the ancient time, her strength must be quite high as well since Issei could sense a tiny bit of divinity oozing out from her.

If she's a person that has reaches the God realm then she should've been able to tell his real identity just like Xiaotao and Lieyan did. But it seems that she no longer has the capability to do the same...

"You still haven't answered my question." Issei repeated himself.

The old lady could not detect any evil intent from Issei's person and this was what comforted her the most.

She slowly said, "I am only a guardian my little mistress... and my race has long been forgotten by the world there is no need to mention them anymore my little mistress her body has been inflicted with a terrible devilish poison within all the realms only the <Sky Poison Pearl> can cure her in order to stem the invasion of this devilish poison our little mistress was sealed into the Coffin of Eternity..."

"Coffin of Eternity?"

The old lady's voice grew more and more ethereal, "Chaotic turmoil the terrible battle of Gods and Devils the overturning of the sky the weeping of the Gods and the Heavens I brought my little mistress with me into the ark to flee. The <Coffin of Eternity> sealed her body and soul allowed her presence to disappear into the chaotic space and allowed her to escape that heaven-destroying calamity if one day the Sky Poison Pearl can cleanse the devilish poison from her body and she can once again awaken then my bitter life will finally come to a happy end"

Devilish poison devilish poison!? The words that had been repeated by the old lady caused Jasmine's breathing to go wild because the poison she had been inflicted with was also a kind of devilish poison. And it was the deadliest of all devilish poisons, the <Absolute God Slaying Poison>! And similarly, only the <Sky Poison Pearl> could fully cleanse this poison.

The old lady's voice grew dimmer and dimmer and the contents of her message began growing garbled. She didn't wish to reveal the status and origins of herself or her 'little mistress', but she involuntarily revealed fragments of the previous situation. And it was at this time that her already mist-like form began to grow even thinner.

She was a guardian, and in order to fulfill her duties, she willingly abandoned her body and a large portion of her soul.. To continuously fulfill her duties as a lingering spirit to the point where she dissipated.

Issei went silent for a brief moment before he looked at the lump of red light and said: "Go... I will help your little mistress get rid of her poison."

Issei's red eyes turned golden before his body started to glow in a white aura. He extended his hand towards the lingering soul direction and had her enveloped in it.

He uses his <Holy> element to help the pitiful soul pass on to the afterlife...

"Ah... Thank you Thank you so much... I can finally feel assured and free myself I will be in another world, praying, for my little mistress and you" The soul residue let out a voice filled with immense gratitude.

"Um... May you find everlasting peace in the afterlife..."

Right after Issei finishes his words, Bai'er appeared right in front of the soul residue which made the latter eyes went wide.

"...ahh..." The lingering spirit let out a light gasp when she saw Bai'er.

Bai'er extended both of her arms and grasped the soul residue's right hand. She let out a thin smile which made the soul residue expression grew peaceful and also gratified at the same time...

Bai'er doesn't recognize this soul residue at all. It's just her body moving on her own... she doesn't understand why but she doesn't resist it either.

For some reason, she felt really close with this lingering spirit...

"...my... dear little mistress... I'm glad..."

The elderly woman's voice grew weaker and slower. When the last sounds of her voice fell, her entire figure is shrouded in bright light and when the light disappears, she's nowhere to be found...

Issei's whole figure also returned to normal along with his eyes and everything.

"...The remains of her soul have finally disappeared, it lasted for almost as long as I predicted..." Jasmine said with a sigh.

"But why did Bai'er suddenly appear?" She tilted her head in confusion looking at the silent Bai'er.

Issei doesn't respond to Jasmine's words and only calmly patted Bai'er's head. This is the second time for Xun'er and Jasmine to witness Issei's <Light> element.

They have to admit he looks like a God of Light just now...

"Come, Bai'er... Let's meet your 'other half'."

Bai'er who heard Issei words froze for a little before she nodded obediently.

Jasmine and Xun'er also become taken aback by Issei sudden words, just when she was about to ask a question, the ball of light suddenly stopped flickering and completely froze in position, then suddenly pinged softly.

*CLANG!*

It was like the sound of glass shattering.

In an instant, a vertical crack appeared on the ball of light that was frozen in position. Soon after, the ball of light instantly evaporated, as though it was a soap bubble being pierced, turning into numerous red shards scattering in the air before breaking into even small pieces, and slowly disappeared in the air.

The red protective ball of light dispelled, but not all of the red light disappeared. Following the disappearance of the red protective ball of light, a crystal coffin that was emitting a weak red glow appeared in front of them.

There's someone inside the crystal coffin to be precise, it's a little girl that looks identical to Bai'er.

The girl's body was petite and her hands laid crossed in front of her chest as she laid silently in the coffin with a tint of a serene and lonely expression. She had long hair that was naturally scattered behind her. Her hair reached all the way to her lower back and was bright red It was not a flame-like fiery-red, but instead a ruby-like sparkling red.

The girl had a face that seemed like it was carved from jade. Within its perfection, there was an immaturity that only a child would possess. On her cream-colored face was a cute exquisite nose that pointed upwards and watery tender lips that were gently closed. Below her similarly, red eyelashes were eyes that anyone would believe to be a pair of star-like eyes if she opened them.

She wore a bright red imperial robe, but her clothes seemed to be very thin, bringing out all the contours of her petite body. Only a pair of snow-white slender arms and a pair of white and tender legs were revealed, and on her feet were a pair of crystal clear ruby princess shoes. However, the most eye-catching thing was that there were ruby bangles on both her wrists and ankles. The bangles were very small and stuck tightly to her skin on her slender wrists and ankles.

The only difference between this little girl with Bai'er is the color of their hair.

One girl had long and gorgeous vermillion hair, the other had silver long hair that sparkled with the light of stars.

"They're so alike... no... they're basically twins." Jasmine muttered and Xun'er also agrees with her daughter's statement.

"Ise... Is she..." Jasmine doesn't need to complete her sentence for Issei to understand what she wanted to ask about.

"Um... They're basically the same entity... Both of them are completely identical. Whether it is their physical appearance and even soul... You could say that Bai'er is <Yin> while this little girl is <Yang>. But, this little girl possesses a larger soul part." Issei said softly.

He calculated that Bai'er has 40% of the soul while her other half is 60%.

"It looks like the reason why Bai'er doesn't remember anything is because her soul is incomplete... This girl should possess the memories she lost, but judging from how contaminated her soul is... I wouldn't find it surprising if she also lost her memories..." Issei said while observing the girl inside the crystal coffin.

What a pity... Issei sighed to himself.

Issei felt a sudden tug on his clothes. And when he looked down, he saw Bai'er is looking at him with a pleading look on her face.

He smiled softly before he proceeded to pat her head one more time before he pushed the top of the coffin gently.

The coffin lid is easily pushed away with just a gentle push from Issei.

"It is indeed the aura of a devilish poison Quickly, help her detoxify the poison!" Jasmine's suddenly said anxiously: "Once the Coffin of Eternity has been opened, the suppressed devilish poison would already be awakened! Quick, cleanse it with the Sky Poison Pearl! Otherwise, with no means of resisting while unconscious, her life, consciousness, and soul will be consumed by the poison!"

As Jasmine spoke, a black shroud of fog that was growing thicker with frightening speed, appeared around the body of the red-haired girl.

Without wasting any more time, Issei immediately summoned the <Sky Poison Pearl> and had it hovering on top of the girl. A jade-green glow instantly appeared from the pearl and enveloping her entire body.

The poison was similar to the frightening poison that was on Jasmine, except that it was not as domineering as Jasmine's.

In this world, there was no poison that the Sky Poison Pearl could not cleanse, and under the cleansing power of the Sky Poison Pearl, the devilish poison within the red-haired girl was being subdued gradually. Then, it was consumed and cleansed, resulting in the black shroud of fog being dispersed and completely disappearing very quickly.

After thirty minutes, the devilish poison on the girl was finally completely purified The fact that it took so long for the Sky Poison Pearl to cleanse it meant that the devilish poison was extremely powerful. Judging by the strength of the devilish poison, if it had completely invaded the girl's soul, just like Jasmine's situation, it would even be considered short if it was completely cleansed in tens of days.

When he thought about this, Issei felt anger rising from within his body... Just who can be so wicked to poison a small girl such as this... And to make matter worse, this girl is basically Bai'er herself who he treated as his own little sister.

Whoever the culprit is... it would be in their best interest if they're already not in this world. If not then... he will surely make them suffer.

Judging from the <Heretic God> history and his understanding about him so far, this Heretic God is not evil at all. And he can even be considered a saint even though he's a bit eccentric at times...

Xiaotao and Lieyan told him that the Heretic God is of the <God> race while his wife is someone from the <Devil> race. Judging from the faint devil energy that Bai'er and the light energy this girl possess inside their body then it must be true... They must've inherited both of "their" parent's bloodline.

He could more or less guess the reason why the culprit tried to kill Bai'er is because of their parent's. Back then the Gods and Devil wage war against each other... And considering that Bai'er parent's race, the culprit must've thought that it's blasphemy or some sort to have two people of a different race had a child together, so they wanted to kill Bai'er just because of their idiotic belief...

Heh... Things just never change no matter the world... There are always those kinds of idiots who wanted to force their beliefs to other people. If someone happens to be going against their belief, it just happens to be Bai'er parents in this case, then they would stop at nothing to bring down their "judgment" onto them.

And if the ones they called "Heretics" happens to be stronger than them, they wouldn't even dare to say anything to them upfront much less fighting them directly. They will act like those "Heretics" never said anything in the first place... Your typical fear the strong and prey on the weak hypocrites.

Issei doesn't really care just what their beliefs are as long as they don't force it onto others. That's one of the iron-clad rules he has in the <Netherworld>.

Issei found out that Bai'er should be the daughter of the Heretic God judging from the similar energy signature they share. And this Primordial Profound Ark is also created by the Heretic God. The previous soul residue treated the girl inside the coffin and also Bai'er as her little mistress and her last words before she disappears...

The soul residue exists ever since the so-called "Era of the Gods" and the battle between God and Devil, so it all makes sense... Everything's fits together.

That's also why the Heretic God sent him to the <Azure Cloud Continent> saying he would find what he's searching for over there. What he said is indeed true and Issei does find what he's looking for(The Dark energy on the Abyss), although the Heretic God also wants him to find and help Bai'er in the process...

The Sky Poison Pearl's cleansing light had disappeared as Issei willed it back.

The girl still remained peacefully sleeping, making one to not bear to make a sound lest she woke up.

"No signs of life?" Jasmine said in surprise.

She just used her sense to scan her body but unable to detect any signs of life.

"But that can't be right..." She mumbled softly.

If this girl is already dead then Issei wouldn't have been bothered to cure her poison.

"She's alive. It's just that her sign of life is different compared to most normal beings such as the human race and the like." Issei said while he slowly extended his hand and gently moved the girl hair bangs aside.

Truly alike...

Their condition reminded Issei of Ophis and Lilith...

Bai'er just spectates their interaction from the side. She keeps staring at her other half...

"I see... Then why is she not waking up yet?" Jasmine nodded understandingly at first but then asked once again.

Just as Jasmine's words fell, the girl's red eyelashes suddenly moved gently. Following that, her eyes that had been shut for an unimaginable amount of time gradually opened.

These were a pair of ruby-like stunning eyes. The moment her eyes opened, it was as though the dark sky had suddenly been lit up by the shine of stars. The red of the eyes in front of him now was like the most perfect color formed from the accumulation of the very essence of heaven and earth. It was so beautiful that it was suffocating. Unlike Issei's wine red eyes that are so intoxicating that they would make anyone willingly lost in the reverie just by gazing at it.

Issei didn't move at all. His eyes still locked with the little girl's opened eyes...

Red meets red...

As Issei looked at her with a calm expression, her beautiful red eyes stared back at him. After some time, she finally blinked and eventually sat up within the crystal coffin. Realizing that Issei was still staring at her, she blinked once again.

Suddenly, her eyebrows curved and a pair of thin cute crescents appeared above her eyes. Her face had an unbearably cute smile: "Hi, big brother! You're so pretty!"

"..."

After suddenly waking from a slumber that lasted who knew how long, appearing at a dark and empty space after seeing only strangers the girl didn't seem to be nervous or scared, not even lost or puzzled. Instead, she smiled brightly and greeted him.

Although her greetings made the corner of Issei's mouth spasm a bit...